Control apparatus



H. R. MEYER.

CONTROL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION min JUNE-9. 1920.

1,416,047, Y Patented May 16, 1922.

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4L I i L, 6 f Tro//e Ill Z/ ,7, 50mm MMA-* Gaund ATTORNEY Unirse STATESPATENT oI-Ficay HARRY E. BIEYER, 0:#3 HILKNSB`URG, IENNSYLVANL,ASESIGNOR` 'TO TESTING-HOUSE ELECTRIC 8c ll/ANUFCTURENG CGllrPlNY, .ACORPORATION F PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTROL APPARATUS,

ifiiiaoar.

To all 107mm t may concern.'

lie it known that I, llamar li.. lvlurun, a citizen of the nited States,and a resident ot' iVillrinsburg, in the county or Allegheny and Stateof Pennsylvania., have invented a new and useful `lmprovement in ControlAp para/tus, oi2 which the following is a specification. y

My invention relates to' control apparatus and it has special. relationto power-operated control devices 'for electric railway motors and thelilre. i

The object of my invention is to provide a control apparatus olf theabove-indicated character wherein a minimum number of woii'lring parts,occupying a minimum amount or space, are enclosed in a single encasingstructure, which may be conveniently located partially above andpartially below the car floor or platform.

More specifically stated, it is the object of my invention to provide acell-type re sister; that is, a plurality ot'spaced resistance coils,that are mounted directly upon an operating shalt which is furtherprovided with current-collecting means, the shalt being driven by apilot motor and, in turn, controlling the circuits thereof and also themain circuit tor the carepropelling motor or motors.

My invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing, whereinf Figure 1 is a view, in :ti-ont elevation, of a controldevice constructed in accordance Awith my present inventionl theencasing member being shown in section forv the sake ot clearness;

lP 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating the commutator ringerconnections that are preferably employed in the apparatus of Fig. 1;

rFig. 3 is a diagrammatic view ci? the auxiliary or pilotemotor circuitsof the apparatus;

Fig. lis a diagran'nnatic view ot the main motor circuits that aregoverned by my control apparatus; and

litige. 5 to 7, inclusive, are enlarged detail views ot certain portionsoil' the apparatus shown in Fig. l.

Referring to Figs. l and oit the drawing, the structure here showncomprises ar celltype resistor apparatus 1 which is preferably locatedbeneath the car licor or platform 2, and a power-operated device,together with Specification of Letters Patent. v ptgntd lvIgvy 16, 1922Application :filed June 9,

Serial No. 387,592.

the necessary switching equipment, designated by the general referencecharacter 3, which is preferably mounted above the car` floor orplatform 2.

The` cell-type resistor device 1 comprises an encasaing4 cylinder ortank 4 which contains a body of oil or the like 1a in which are immerseda plurality or resistors la to Alg, inclusive, of the familiarpancake-coil type, for example, the coils being suitably spaced forinsulating and cooling purposes by means of a plurality ot insulatingcollars or spacers 5. The entire set of resistors, which. is thus or" ageneral cylindrical shape, is mounted between a pair ot suitableendfplates 7 and S upon an operating shaftA or rod 6, being suitablyinsulated therefrom. A bottom bearing member 9 tor the shalt 6, locatedat the bottom of the tank 4, and a 'top bearing member or journal 10,located on the upper tace of the encasing member 14 for the appa-l ratus3, are also provided,

A plate or slab 12 is provided with a hanged internal opening, wherebythe tank l may be suitably supported, the two mem'- bers 4L and 12 beingeither welded or bolted together. The cover or encasing member 14 isopen at the bottom only, and the flanged side walls thereof aredetachably secured to the plate or slab 12 by means ot a plurality ofbolts 15.

The necessary leads or conductors 16 from the several resistors da toLig, inclusive, eX- tend upwardly through or around the topassembly'plate 7 to the several segments of a commutator 17 the completeconnections being shownin the developed view ot 4.

The commutator 17 is rigidly secured to and suitably insulated trom theshaft `6.

A combined slip-ring and interna-l gear-I wheel 18 is also rigidly andinsulatedly mounted upon the operating shaft 6 just above the commutator17. An operating cam 19a, shown in plan in Fig. 5, tor con` trolling themain motor circuit, and a plurality of auxiliary cams 19?) and 190,shown in plan in Figs. 6 and7, respectively, are also mounted rigidlyupon the operating shaft 6.

lonsequently, the rotatable member 6 carries with it the severalresistors la to 4g, inclusive, the commutator 17, the slipring andgear-wheel 18 and the three cams 19a, 19o and 190.

For the purpose otconveying current to rio the commutator 17, a pair ofparallel-connected control lingers or brushes 2() and 2l, best shown inFig. 2, are provided. rlhe reason for the provision of two lingers,adapted to bear on adjacent segments, to prevent any possibility of anopen circuit during rotative movement of the commutator, as will beunderstood. fr third control finger or brush 22 bears upon the outersurface of the slip-ring and gear-wheel Lil. The three fingers orbrushes 20, 2l and 22 may be suitably supported, as by a trager board23, which may be secured. to the base plate '12.

A power-operated. device, such as a pilot motor 25, is mounted, with itsrotor axis vertical, a short distance above the slip-ringv and gearmember 18. The base of the mo*- tor is bolted or otherwise suitablyTsecured to a vertical arm ot a bent metal strap or bracket 26, the lowerend of which is welded or otherwise fastened to the. base plate l2. Theposition or the motor 25 is such as to effect proper meshing between apinion 2T on the motor shaft and Vthe teeth of the internal gear-wheel18.

A line switch device 30 is mounted on its side upon an intermediatehorizontally-ei:- tending portion of the bracket 26, the movable contactmember 3l being located opporsite the main cam member 19a on theoperating shaft- G. Since any well-known type olf cam-operated switchmay be employed, it is not deemed necessary to further illustrate ordescribe the construction thereof.

The remaining cam members 192') and 19@ are adapted to cO-operate withsimilar but smaller-capacity switches 28 and 29 'for purposes to be setforth.

The main cam 19a is provided with a switch-opening notch 37 in the ottposition of the apparatus and the auxiliary cani 190 is provided `with asimilarly locatedL notch. 39. The other cam 19?) has a notch 38 in thefull on position. The purpocs ot these switch-openingnotches will be setYforth later.

The various circuits will be described during the description oit lligs.3 and and, consequently, will not be set forth in connection with Fig.l.

Referring to the auxiliary circuits shown in Fig. 8, the illustratedtype ot control system comprises suitable supply-circuit conductorsTrolley and Ground; the pilot inotor 25, the cam-operated switches 2Sand 2S); and a primary controlling device, such as a master controllerMC.

Assuming that it is desired to operate the pilot motor 25, the master coroller "Wl may be moved to its first opera e pos on (z, whereby acircuit is established from the Trolley through conductor 4t2, control.lingers 43 and l-t, which are bridged by contact seofment 4:5 ot' themaster controller,

conductor d6, cam switch 2S, which is closed 'in all positions exceptthe final or full on position, as indicated by the notch 33 in thecorresponding portion o'l cam 19h (Fi o), whence circuit is completedthrougn the armature -i-O and tho ield winding il-i ot the pilot .motorto Ground.

ln this way, the pilot motor is started into operation to e'tl'ectrotative movement of the. operating shat't l5 through the agency or thepinion 27 and the gear-wheel S. Such movement gradually effect.exclusion ot re sisters la to dg., inclusive, from circuit, assubsequently described in detail, until the lull on`7 position ot theoperating shaft o is reached, corresponding to the position to theleiiit oit' the notch 37 in` the main cam Ulf/f, as indicated in Fig. 5.

it desired, the pilot motor may be dsigned to possess such ogjieratingcharacteristics that a suitaliily slow speed thereof, corresponding to agradual exclusion or time` element control oli the Various resistorsections iii-om. the circuit oii the main motor, may bo obtained.However, l. prefer to make the speed oit' the pilot motor dependent uponthe load of the main motor or' motors, whercbj. the rate oit exclusionot 'the resistors is decrei sed whenever the load becomes relativelyheavy and inciea ..d when the load becomes relatively light. 'lloaccomplish this object, the tield windin L ll ot the pilot niotor 25 isconnected in pai .llel relation with the tield windiigv FlA olii 'themain proiielling motor hll. In this way. the spccd oit the pilot motor25, which is dependent upon its ield strength., is directly o'orer'nedby the` load current traversing t cries field winding ot the main motor.l'lowever, this particular arran'reinent not oi: my present im ventionbut` Ytally set forth and claiilnied in a. copendingl application otViascani lus-- tin, Serial llo. 328,344?, lilcd r'lune (3, i915?. allassigned to the lillestinghouse llllectric tl; l". ianu ta ct uringCompany.

lit is, ot course, necessary to arrest thc movement of the operatingshaft at the full on77 position, since lull iinininp,` coralitions olithe main propclliro' motor or motors have been attained. .'s action isaccomplished through the ai; ncy ot the notch 38 in the cam 19?),whereby the cam switch 2S is automatically opened as soon as the ilullon position is reached. 'lhe pilot motor 25 is thus cle-energized andquilzly comes to restin the desired position.

To return the operating shait l5 to its normal or oil position, thennster controller is merely actuated to its oil posiioii, whereupon anew circuit is cs'al lished from the eoniiluctor 4t2 through control iiinfs lil and 47, which are bridged by co1'. .l ct segment le? in thectoil7 position ot the con troller. conductor r9 and cam switch 22 whichis closed in all positions except the off position of the shaft G, as isindicated by ythe location of the notch 89 in the cam 190. Circuit iscontinued from the `cam 4 switch 29 through conductor 190, and the pilotmotor 25 to Ground.

In this way, the pilot motor 25 is operated in the same direction asbefore until the off position of the Voperating shaft 6 is reached,whereupon the cam shaft 29 is automatically opened by reason of itsencounter with the notch 39 in the cam 190. Consequently, the pilotmotor is automatically brought to rest when the operating shaft reachesits normal or off77 position, in readiness for the next acceleratingoperation, by merely returning the master controller to its 0H position.

Referring to the main circuits, Fig. 4 shows the supply-circuitconductors 'lrolley and Ground, a main or car-propelling motor M1 havinga coinmutator-type armature A1 and a series field winding F1, togetherwith the various resistors 4a to 4g, inclusive, the commutator 17, theslip-ring 18 andthe line-switch device 30.

For the purpose of obtaining successive exclusion or short-circuit ofthe resistor sections 4@ to 4g, inclusive, as the commutator 17 isrotated, the following permanent connections are made. The left-hand endof the resistor 4a is connected through conductor 50 to two adjacentcommutator segments upon which the commutator brushes 2O and 21 alsoinitially bear. A point intermediate the adjacent ends of the resistorsta and 4L?) is connected through the conductor 51 to the next commutatorsegment, and similar conditions, with regard to the remaining adjacentpairs of resistor elements, obtain through the medium of conductors 52to 56, inclusive, which are respectively connected to the successiveconimutator segments. The right-hand end of the last resistor 4g isconnected through conductor 57 to the next commutator segment and alsoto the slipring 18.

Vhen the operating shaft 6 is initially actuated, as previouslydescribed, by throwing the master controller to its position 0;, theline switch 30 is closed in a familiar manner to complete a main circuitfrom the |lrolley through the line switch 80, brush 22, slip-ring 18,conductor 57, all of the resistors lg to 4a, inclusive, in seriesrelation, and conductor 50, to those segments of the commutator 1T uponwhich the brushes 2O and 21 bear. Circuit is completed from theconnnutator brushes through the armature A1 and the field winding F1 otthe carpropelling motor to Ground. The main nictor is thus started intooperation with all of the accelerating resistors in circuit therewith.

As the operating shaft e is actuated by the pilot motor 25, it will beobserved that the resistors la to 4g, inclusive, are successivelyshort-circuited and then entirely disconnected from circuit by reason ofthe successive locations of the commutator brushes 2O and 21 upon thecommutator segments. In this way, the resistors are gradually excludedfrom circuit to permit the impression of a gradually increasing voltageupon the carpropelling motor M1. In the full on77 position of the`operating shaft 6, the pilot niotor 25 is automatically stopped, aspreviously set forth, and, in that case, all of the resistor sectionsare excluded from circuit, and the slip-ring 18 is directly connected'to the commutator brushes 2O and 21.

It will be understood that the principles of my invention may be readilyadapted to systems of control other than that herein illustrated. F orexample, series-parallel control of a plurality of motors may be readilyobtainedv by the use of additional main-circuit cam switches or othercontact members, operating in accordance with a predetermined sequence.Furthermore, various modilications in the structural details andarrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention. I desire, therefore, that only such limitationsshall be imposed thereon as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Control apparatus comprising a rotatable member, a plurality ofresistors rotatable therewith, power-operated means for actuating saidmember and a switch governed by said member for controlling the circuitof said resistors.

2.' Control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality `ofresistors mounted thereon, a motor for actuating said shaft, and a camswitch operated by said shaft for controlling the circuit of saidresistors.

3. Control apparatus comprising a rotatable member, a plurality ofresistors rotatable therewith, a commutator havino' a plurality ofsegments connected to said resistors, power-operated means for actuatingsaid member, and a switch governed by said niem-v ber for controllingthe circuit of said resistors.L

4. Control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality ofresistors mounted on said shaft, a commutator having a plurality ofsegments connected to said resistors, av mot-or for actuating saidshaft, and a cam switch operated by said shaft for governing the circuitof said resistors.

Control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality of resistorsmounted on said shaft, a commutator having a plurality of segmentsconnected to said resistors for constituting one terminal of theresistor circuit, a slip-ring for constituting the other terminal ofthat circuit, and a motor for actuating said shaft.

G. Control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality ciresistors mounted on said shait, a commutator having` a plurali@7 olisegments connected to said resistors for constituting one terminal ofthe resistor circuit, a slip-ring for constituting the other terminalol. that circuit, and a switch governed by said shaft l'or controllingthe circuit of said `resistors.

Control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality of resistorsmounted on said shaft, a commutator having a plurality ot segmentsconnected to said resistors for constituting one terminal of theresistor circuit, a slip-ringtor constituting,` the other terminal otthat circuit, and a motor mechanically connected to said slip-ring- 8.Control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality o'lresistors mounted on said shaft, a commutator having a plurality ofsegments connected to said resistors for constituting one terminal ofthe resistor circuit, Aa slip-ring for constituting the other terminalof that circuit, a motor internally geared to said slip-ring, and aswitch gov erned by said shalt for controlling the circuit or saidresistors.

9. Vehicle-control apparatus comprising a rotatable shaft, a pluralityot spaced resistors mounted on said shaft, a tank of oil. locatedbeneath the vehicle Hoor for immersing said resistors, a commutatorhaving a plurality of segments connected to said rei sisters Storconstituting one terminal ot the resistor circuit, a slip-ring' forconstituting` the other terminal oit that circuit, a motor internallygeared to said slip-ring, and a cam switch operated by said shaft 'forcontrolling the circuit of said resistors.

ln testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this lst day ofJune, 1920.

HARRY R. MEYER.

